Uber, Lyft battle heads to local level

The New York battle over apps like Uber and Lyft didn’t end when the state legislature approved a ride-hailing system in the state budget last month. It just shifted to the local level.

A provision in the state’s new ride-hailing law allows all counties and four major cities — Rochester, Yonkers, Syracuse and Buffalo — to block companies like Uber and Lyft from picking up riders within their boundaries.

So far, few local governments have suggested they will go that route.

But the law doesn’t set a deadline to enact a local ban, meaning the counties and large cities could choose to act long after the ride-hailing law takes effect in early July.